Late goal gives the Indy Eleven their first NASL win

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Don Smart's goal in the 87th minute gave the Eleven a 2-1 win at Carolina-their first in the NASL.

Late goal gives the Indy Eleven their first NASL win

Don Smart's goal in the 87th minute gave the Eleven a 2-1 win at Carolina-their first in the NASL.

CARY, NC – All of the things the Indy Eleven had to accomplish early in their existence as a professional soccer team were taken care of with exception of one thing.

Despite the quick building of a fan base, a collection of sellouts and relatively competitive play for an expansion team, Juergen Sommer’s team had yet to pick up a win in the North American Soccer League. It’s the one “First” that they failed to accomplish in the spring season in the league.

But on Saturday night, it was Fall that sprang eternal for the Eleven.

A pair of second half goals-including the last with under four minutes left in regulation time-gave the Eleven a 2-1 win over the Carolina Railhawks at WakeMed Park in Cary, North Carolina. The victory is the first for the team in NASL play and for the moment has them tied atop of the standings with three points.

Set up by a solid pass from Dylan Mares in the attack zone, Don Smart got one-on-one with the goalkeeper and went to his outside to score the winning goal in the 87th minute. Down the stretch, the Eleven held strong in the final three minutes and then four additional ones in stoppage time to seal a victory.

Ben Spencer tied the game in the 65th minute with a goal not long after a red car forced the Railhawks to finish the game with just 10 players.

The Eleven return home next Saturday for their first home game of the Fall NASL season against Tampa Bay at 7:30 P.M. at Carroll Stadium.